1. Technical Field
An aspect of the present invention relates to a networking apparatus, to which an external device can be attached, and a computer usable medium therefore.
2. Related Art
Among various devices to be attached to a PC (personal computer), an external device complied with USB (universal serial bus) communication standard (hereinafter referred to as a USB device) is known. Such a USB device can be electrically connected with the PC to communicate when a connector of the USB device is attached to a receptacle of the PC.
However, the connector and the receptacle being connected are not necessarily locked, therefore, the USB device can be removed from the receptacle of the PC rather easily even during the communication. When the USB device is equipped with a data storage and is removed from the PC during the communication, the data in the data storage may be damaged. Therefore, a user may be required to perform an operation to electrically disconnect the USB device and the PC to terminate the communication therebetween prior to the removal of the USB device.
Meanwhile, the USB device connected to the PC may be remotely accessed by another networking apparatus through a network when the PC is connected to the network. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2004-78359, a USB device being attached to a networking apparatus, which is connected to a network, can be accessed and shared by a plurality of terminal devices through the network.
In the configuration disclosed in the above publication, however, a user being unaware of a remote user, who is accessing the USB device remotely from one of the terminal devices through the network, may disconnect and remove the USB device from the networking apparatus. In such a case, the communication between the terminal device and the USB device is abruptly discontinued on the remote user. Further, in a worst case, data being exchanged between the USB device and the terminal device may be lost or damaged.